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Relying on friends

May 22, 2008

By: Reid Conner <rconner@hilite.org>

A couple weeks ago I got my driver’s license suspended for 15 days. The details aren’t important, but what is important is that I was completely dependent on my friends and parents to get me to school, work and social events. If they hadn’t been around to give me rides, I wouldn’t have been able to make money, hang out with friends and, worst of all, I would have had to take the bus, every upperclassmen’s worst nightmare.

Thinking about my experience, I have realized how dependent a lot of people, including me, are on their friends, family and especially the technology we use every day. I was almost lost without my car; it was like a part of me was missing. I actually like driving. I like blaring music and being occupied rather than just sitting in the passenger seat staring out a window. I took my right to drive for granted and became so dependent on it that I forgot how hard it can be to make plans work out when I constantly have to rely on other people to work me into their schedule and give me rides.

That said, my friends and parents were great sports about the whole thing. My dad got up before six in the morning on two different Saturdays to drive me to work when he could have been sleeping in. I got rides home from school with a friend who lives in the completely opposite direction. My girlfriend became the driver for a little over two weeks, not only driving me around on the weekend but also giving me rides to school in the morning. A friend of mine even picked me up from work so my mom wouldn’t have to. No one ever gave me a hard time about it or complained; everyone was a huge help and they seemed happy to be helping me.

What would we do without all these people? Whether we know it or not we come to depend on them so much when we need help with something, we almost don’t think about the time they invest in us. And although I’m talking about cars, that isn’t the only technology our generation is hopelessly dependent on.

I, for one, don’t know what I would do without my iPod. God forbid that I actually go back to having to burn CDs to play in my car or listen to the radio when I could just plug my iPod into the stereo. I’m sure a lot of people probably feel the same way. If not about iPods, then I’m sure there are a lot of people who would be helpless without a cell phone.

We live with these helpful little gadgets every day without actually thinking about how much we have come to depend on them. I use my phone to find out when I’m working, to make plans, to remind myself to do things, to ask questions and pretty much anything else I can think of at the time. I don’t think I’ve actually used a house phone for a real conversation in years.

Most high school students would have a tough time making it a week without their cell phone. How would you keep in touch with people? How would you remember to do things or wake up to get home on time in the morning when you’re at a friend’s house?

Dependence on other people and objects is a huge part of life. Without the support of our friends and family and the comfort of our technology, we would have almost nothing. People say they want to be “independent” but there’s really no such thing. Instead of trying so hard to be independent, which is nearly impossible anyway, take comfort in the fact that you have people you can always go to for help when you need it. After all, down the road you may be returning a similar favor to the same person. Reid Conner is a reporter for the HiLite. Contact him at rconner@hilite.org.

Updated by Jsun · Filed Under Perspectives 

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